The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 242 Shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 4.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MBWM. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 90,802 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 18.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,530,000 after acquiring an additional 47,528 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 15.4% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 260,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,553,000 after acquiring an additional 34,725 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 218.8% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 29,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 14,263 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $300,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,810 shares in the company, valued at $1,025,167.50. This trade represents a 22.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,550 shares of company stock worth $531,660. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ MBWM opened at $49.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.15. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $33.46 and a 1 year high of $52.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $794.99 million, a PE ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.83 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 28.92%.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

Mercantile Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan that provides commercial and retail banking services to small- to medium-sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, and term certificate accounts; time deposits; and certificates of deposit.